Brightwhite, desert prenanthella

Prenanthes exigua A. Gray, Smithsonian Contr. Knowl. 5(6): 105. 1853; Lygodesmia exigua (A. Gray) A. Gray

Leaves 1–3 cm, reduced distally to bracts 0.5–5 mm. Heads 10–150+. Calyculus bractlets 0.5–1+ mm. Principal phyllaries 3–5 mm after flowering. Corollas 1.5–2 mm. Cypselae 2.5–3.5 mm; pappi: longest bristles 2–3 mm. 2n = 14.

Flowering Mar–Jun. Sandy, gravelly, or clay soils, desert washes and open slopes to sagebrush-juniper steppes; 20–1900 m; Ariz., Calif., Colo., Nev., Oreg., Tex., Utah; Mexico (Baja California, Sonora).